Every Friday, Consequence of Sound rounds up some of the week’s noteworthy new album releases. Today, October 16th, brings fresh music from Kevin Morby, OSees, Open Mike Eagle, HEALTH, Autechre, Pluralone (Josh Klinghoffer), and Black Thought. Take a listen to each of their new albums below.
Also be sure to check out new releases from Sturgill Simpson, beabadoobee, and Tom Petty.
Kevin Morby – Sundowner
Kevin Morby, photo by Johnny Eastlund
Kevin Morby has released his new album, Sundowner, via Dead Oceans. It marks the indie songwriter’s sixth solo effort to date and the follow-up to his 2019 double-LP Oh My God.
Sundowner was written and demoed out on a Tascam four-track recorder in Kansas, where he’s currently based, and recorded in Texas with Bon Iver collaborator Brad Cook. Compared to the elegant organs and gospel flair of its predecessor, Sundowner is strikingly minimal and stark, featuring mostly light guitar strums, sparse piano, and soft percussion contributions from Big Thief drummer James Krivchenia. Waxahatchee, fellow musician and Morby’s partner in real life, also appears on lead single “Campfire”.
Stream:
— Spotify
OSees – Metamorphosed
Osees, photo by Nina Corcoran
Osees (aka Oh Sees) have let loose a new album dubbed Metamorphosed. It’s just one of many releases the prolific garage rockers have shared in 2020, following their Weirdo Hairdo EP and Protean Threat. It also comes ahead of December’s Panther Rotate remix record.
Metamorphosed comes out of the sessions that produced 2019’s Face Stabber. It may only be five tracks long, but it achieves a full album’s length with the help of the more than 23-minute epic “I Got a Lot”.
In an interview with Henry Rollins, OSees leader John Dwyer explained that this kind of song, “Usually… takes place at the end of the planned recording. We have extra time and tape to lay down some deep cuts and long jams, etc., the fun part, really.” He added that Metamorphosed came together at the beginning of 2020, as the pandemic forced everyone to slow down and take stock:
“Basically I found myself with a 12”s worth of material in the new year and things were starting to grind to a halt, so it was the perfect time to sew it all up. People need some tunes right now and I think the artists community is making a good run of it. So much great shit is seeing light right now.”
Stream:
— Spotify
Open Mike Eagle – Anime, Trauma and Divorce
Open Mike Eagle, photo by Kim Newmoney
Open Mike Eagle has returned with his first album in three years, Anime, Trauma and Divorce. Out via his own AutoReverse Records label, the LP follows up on Brick Body Kids Still Daydream from 2017.
According to the 39-year-old rapper, the new full-length recounts the worst year of his entire life. “Before the world went to shit I was already in the middle of a few personal crisis,” OME explained in a statement. “Shit had gone haywire personally and professionally and my therapist had to remind me that I have an outlet to process some of my shit in rap music.”
“So I made a bunch of painful rap songs and Jacknife Lee was kind enough to help me make good music out of them,” he continued. “Maybe it can help other people too. It probably won’t but maybe.”
As noted, Jacknife Lee executive produced the entire project, while Black Milk, Gold Panda, and Frank Leone contributed additional beats.
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Radio Public | Stitcher
Stream:
— Spotify
HEALTH – DISCO4 :: PART I
HEALTH, photo by Adam Alessi
Los Angeles noise-rockers HEALTH have premiered new album DISCO4 :: PART I.
Out courtesy of Loma Vista Recordings, the 12-track effort highlights HEALTH’s various collaborations from the past few years, including tracks such as “HATE YOU” with rapper JPEGMAFIA, the Soccer Mommy-assisted indie treat “MASS GRAVE”, and the experimental “DELICIOUS APE” featuring Xiu Xiu. There are also three brand new collaborations with 100 gecs, The Soft Moon, and Brothel.
In a statement about the album, the band remarked, “In the past each HEALTH LP has been accompanied by a corresponding remix record. This time, despite being called DISCO 4 in the interest of continuity, we offer you a collection of original collaborations with artists we admire. Also, FUCK 2020.”
Stream:
— Spotify
Autechre – SIGN
Autechre, photo courtesy of artist
Electronic music veterans Autechre are back with new album SIGN.
Released via Warp Records, the effort follows the duo’s NTS Sessions, a collection of music broadcast during Autechre’s NTS Radio residency in 2018, as well as elseq 1-5 from 2016, a record comprised of five 50-minute segments. Per a statement, with a running time just a little over an hour, SIGN marks the British group’s first standard-length album since Exai from way back in 2013.
SIGN contains a total of 11 songs. Among them are titles such as “M4 Lema”, “Metaz form8”, “gr4”, and “psin AM”, all seemingly strange and nonsensical, as is usually the case for Autechre’s Rob Brown and Sean Booth.
Stream:
— Spotify
Pluralone (Josh Klinghoffer) – I Don’t Feel Well
Josh Klinghoffer, photo by Philip Cosores
Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer has revealed a new solo album. Credited to his Pluralone moniker, it’s called I Don’t Feel Well.
Today’s project serves as the follow-up to his 2019 debut album, To Be One with You, but is Klinghoffer’s first since being let go by the Peppers earlier this year. According to a statement, the 10-track effort was completed during the pandemic, hence the title’s rather dismal and uncertain tone.
“This is a wild time,” Klinghoffer remarked in a statement. “This album was made during and amongst some very new experiences. I hope it captures some of how it felt during this period. I’ll feel better when this is behind us.”
Stream:
— Spotify
Black Thought – Streams of Thought Vol. 3: Cane and Able
Black Thought, photo via NBC
Black Thought of The Roots has shared a new solo collection called Streams of Thought Vol. 3: Cane and Able.
The 13-track effort follows Streams of Thought, Vol. 1 and Streams of Thought, Vol. 2, both of which hit shelves in 2018 and were produced by 9th Wonder and Salaam Remi, respectively. Production for Vol. 3 was handled by Sean C (Talib Kweli, JAY-Z), and the project includes guest appearances from Pusha-T, Killer Mike, Swizz Beatz, Portugal. The Man, ScHoolboy Q, and The Last Artful, Dodgr.
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Radio Public | Stitcher
Stream:
— Spotify